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Gamers Flock to Machinima for Shows Inspired by Video Games

Droves of gamers are finding amusement in Machinima's expanding repertoire of game-oriented videos. The video entertainment network prides itself on targeting the "hard-to-reach" 18- to 34-year-old males, and its efforts appear to working.

Machinima's programming — a mix of original shows, gameplay videos and distributed content from other creators — reaches 250 million gamers, who just in January viewed the clips 2.5 billion times, the company revealed.

Movie director Jon M. Chu described Machinima to Mashable as the "model for the future of digital entertainment" and hailed it as "one of the most exciting entertainment brands in the world and a darling to online advertisers and YouTube's premium content initiative."

Machinima's distribution blitz on YouTube disperses Machinima content on thousands of channels, which have attracted nearly 186 million subscribers. The YouTube videos also appear on Machinima.com (above), the slick central hub for fans of the company's work.

One of most ambitious series Machinima distributed was Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, and its premiere coincided with the launch of video game Halo 4 in 2012. The live-action show flashed backed to the early days of the Halo game franchise's Human-Covenant war.

Microsoft reportedly had a $10 million budget for Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. Machinima debuted the series on its premium YouTube channel, Machinima Prime, before an extended version made its way to Blu-ray, DVD, Xbox Video, iTunes and other services.

Another notable series, Mortal Combat: Legacy, premiered on Machinima main YouTube channel in 2011 and was dubbed as the "most elegantly produced web series."

And what's the origin of the name of the company? Machinima tells its website visitors: "The word 'machinima' — a loose hybrid of 'machine' and 'cinema' —- refers to the process of creating real-time animation by manipulating a video game’s engine and assets."

Owned by Allen DeBevoise and created by Hugh Hancock in 2000, Machinima can be found on many platforms, all listed below:

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